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Jonathan Frakes
| Place of birth = Bellefonte, Pennsylvania | Roles = Actor, Director | Characters = William T. Riker, Thomas Riker | image2 = William Riker, 2379.jpg }} Actor and director Jonathan Scott Frakes portrayed Commander William T. Riker on , episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise, and in four . He also directed a number of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager episodes, along with two Star Trek films, and . He and David Carson are the only people to have directed Star Trek television and film productions. He has been announced as a director for a Star Trek: Discovery episode, having directed the tenth installment of the series, . Along with Marina Sirtis, Armin Shimerman, John de Lancie, Michael Ansara, and Richard Poe, he is one of only six actors to play the same character in three different live action Star Trek series. Personal Frakes, whose father was a college professor who taught English and literature, was born in , and raised in nearby . He began acting at a young age in junior high and high school plays. Following high school, Frakes enrolled at Pennsylvania State University as a psychology major, and during his time at Penn State became involved with an off-campus professional theater group; this experience eventually led to Frakes changing his major to theater arts. Upon completion of his studies, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Theater Arts, Frakes spent two summers studying drama at Harvard University, where he performed at the Loeb Drama Center. On 28 May 1988, he married the actress Genie Francis (Laura Spencer on General Hospital, on which a pre-Spock Leonard Nimoy starred in 1963 and on which Corbin Bernsen starred long after playing Q2) after working together in the television mini-series North and South. Francis is the daughter of the late character actor Ivor Francis, and the colony mentioned in , Ivor Prime, may have been named after Frakes's father-in-law. Frakes portrayed the brother of fellow Star Trek actors Kirstie Alley and James Read in North and South and North and South: Book II. The sequel also starred DS9 guest star Jim Metzler. Frakes previously met Francis filming the drama series Bare Essence in 1983. Television career Prior to Star Trek: The Next Generation, Frakes appeared in numerous TV roles. In 1977, he co-starred on the medical soap opera The Doctors and between 1978 and 1985 held numerous guest roles on various shows such as Fantasy Island, The Dukes of Hazzard, Quincy, M.E., Highway to Heaven, The Waltons, and The Fall Guy. Frakes also held a guest role in a 1982 episode of Hill Street Blues. The series featured many Star Trek personalities including James B. Sikking in the recurring role of Lieutenant Howard Hunter and Barbara Bosson as Fay Furillo. The series also featured guest roles by Jonathan Banks, Merritt Butrick, Miguel Ferrer, Larry A. Hankin, Tim Culbertson, and Christopher Doyle. Brent Spiner also appeared in the 1985 episode "The Life and Time of Dominic Florio Jr". In 1985, Frakes was cast as Damon Ross on the prime-time soap opera , a role for which he became very well known. Later that year he starred as a villainous steel industrialist in the 1985 mini-series North and South. The series co-stared Kirstie Alley as well as a cameo role by the famous country music singer Johnny Cash. In 1994, while working on Star Trek, Frakes returned to his previous role in North and South: Book II. From 1998 to 2002, he was the host of Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. Star Trek Frakes auditioned seven times over six weeks for the part of Riker. (TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis – Casting") He was cast in the role, first appearing in the pilot episode in 1987. Frakes portrayed the role of Riker for the next seventeen years in various Star Trek series and films. For the Deep Space Nine episode , Frakes filmed his scenes between Wednesday and Tuesday on Paramount Stage 4, 17, and 18. According to the call sheet, he received a hair and beard cut prior to filming on 5 October 1994. The call sheets also distinguish the parts of "Will Riker" and "Tom Riker" in the cast section by using the numbers 9A and 9B. He recorded an audio commentary for the DVD, a film in which he both starred and directed. His efficient filming style on the set earned him the nickname of "Two-Takes Frakes". Several of his costumes from his appearances in Star Trek were sold off on the It's A Wrap! sale and auction on eBay, including the episodes , , , and . He personally feels that the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode is the worst segment of Star Trek that he worked on. Frakes pitched his own spin-off Star Trek show, but CBS rejected it due to the perceived over saturation of the franchise. http://www.ugo.com/tv/jonathan-frakes-bar-karma-interview Star Trek: Discovery showrunner Gretchen J. Berg revealed on June 27, 2017 that Frakes would direct an episode of the series, calling him "a fantastic guy and a great director". Fellow showrunner Aaron Harberts added that the cast was dying to work with him. Further work His non-''Star Trek'' feature-film directing credits include , , and all three of movies. He has also directed various television episodes, including shows such as Roswell, Dollhouse, Castle ''(including an episode, "The Final Frontier", that featured a large number of ''Trek references), The Good Guys, and NCIS: Los Angeles. He has also directed several episodes of The Librarians, a spinoff of the film series, which films in the Portland, Oregon area. http://www.startrek.com/article/jonathan-frakes-directing-new-series In these works, he frequently makes cameo appearances. He has also co-written a book, . Frakes was later a member of The Sunspots, along with Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and LeVar Burton. They appeared as the background vocals for "It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" on Brent Spiner's 1991 album Ol' Yellow Eyes is Back. Frakes is also credited with playing trombone for "Riker's Mailbox" on the 1994 Phish album, Hoist. Appearances as William T. Riker Jonathan Frakes is the only Star Trek regular cast member besides Majel Barrett to appear in all four modern Star Trek series: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise. * (every episode) * (okudagram) * * * * * * Additional appearances File:Riker hologram2366.jpg|William T. Riker (hologram) File:Riker, Barclay program 15.jpg|Musketeer Number One (hologram, Barclay Program 15) File:Riker hologram.jpg|William T. Riker (hologram) File:Odan in Riker.jpg|Riker serving as host of Odan File:Riker hologram, 2368.jpg|William T. Riker (hologram) File:Mental Rape Riker.jpg|William T. Riker (illusion) File:Riker hologram, 2369.jpg|William T. Riker (Moriarty's hologram) File:Riker, Picard delta one.jpg|William T. Riker (Picard Delta One) File:Thomas Riker (2369).jpg|Thomas Riker File:Riker straw.jpg|William T. Riker (illusion) Riker as Enterprise Chef.jpg|"Chef" (on the holodeck) |link=http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Chef_(Enterprise_NX-01) Star Trek directorial credits Jonathan Frakes has directed several Star Trek episodes, and, more recently, two movies. * ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** * ** ** ** * ** ** ** * * Other Trek connections *Alfre Woodard, who starred in First Contact, is his self-proclaimed godmother. *He shares his birthday with Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry and TNG co-star Diana Muldaur. *Aside from Voyager and Nemesis, Frakes has worked with Kate Mulgrew on two other projects: (which also featured the voice of numerous actors from Star Trek, including Avery Brooks, Nichelle Nichols, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, and Colm Meaney) and (which also starred Christopher Lloyd). *He directed Brent Spiner and Armin Shimerman in the episode "The Juror #6 Job" and also Spencer Garrett in the episode "The Morning After Job", of the series Leverage. *In 2002, Frakes directed the movie , where he included line "Make it so, Number One", an in-joke in reference to his Star Trek days. *In 2012, Frakes directed Armin Shimerman in the episode "The Final Frontier", and had a small cameo as an autograph-seeking fan. *In 2013 Frakes voiced an adult version of in an episode of with a plot very similar to that of . The same episode also included a cameo by Wallace Shawn. Star Trek interviews * TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "The Beginning" * TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis" ("Casting", "Character Notes", "Camaraderie") * TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "The Making of a Legend" ("Artistic Design") * TNG Season 1 DVD special feature "Memorable Missions" * TNG Season 2 DVD special feature "Mission Overview: Year Two" ("Ten Forward"), interviewed on * TNG Season 2 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis Year Two", interviewed on * TNG Season 3 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Three" ( , "Guinan Returns", "Special Guests on the Bridge"), interviewed on * TNG Season 3 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis Year Three" ("Crew Profile: Riker and Troi"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Four", interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Four" ("Celebrating 100 Episodes"), interviewed by Entertainment Tonight in * TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Selected Crew Analysis" ("Profile: Vash"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Four" ("Production"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 4 DVD special feature "Inside the Star Trek Archives" ( ), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Five" ("A Visit from Spock"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Five" ( ), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "Intergalactic Guest Stars" (Main segment, "Profile: Captain Morgan Bateson"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry" ("Gene Roddenberry Building Dedicated to Star Trek's Creator", "Gene's Final Voyage"), interviewed on , , and an unknown date * TNG Season 6 DVD special feature "Bold New Directions Year Six" ("A First Chance at "), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 6 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Six" ("Writing", "Acting with Spiner"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Seven" ("An Ending And A Beginning"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Departmental Briefing Year Seven: Production" ("New Director, New Challenges"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Starfleet Moments & Memories Year Seven" ("A Unique Legacy"), interviewed on 2 November 2001 * "Jonathan Frakes – Commander William Riker", , interviewed by Marc Shapiro * "Jonathan Frakes – Commander William Riker", , interviewed by Edward Gross * "Riker's Role", , interviewed by Dennis Fischer * "Jonathan Frakes – Commander William Riker", * "A Career as a Captain", , interviewed by David McDonnell * "Jonathan Frakes – Commander William Riker", , interviewed by Christina Mavroudis & Michael McAvennie * Blu-ray special feature The Unknown Possibilities of Existence: Making "All Good Things" ( ) External links * * * – pictures, sound clips and trivia bg:Джонатан Фрейкс cs:Jonathan Frakes de:Jonathan Frakes es:Jonathan Frakes fr:Jonathan Frakes it:Jonathan Frakes nl:Jonathan Frakes pl:Jonathan Frakes ru:Джонатан Фрейкс Category:Directors Category:Performers Category:Film performers Category:TNG performers Category:DS9 performers Category:VOY performers Category:ENT performers Category:Video game performers Category:Saturn Award nominees Category:Hugo Award nominees Category:Blockbuster Entertainment Award nominees